Nokia optimistic about Windows

Nokia chief executive officer Stephen Elop claims that there is a lot of interest for Nokia phones with Windows onboard. Elop told a Morgan Stanley conference in Barcelona that demand will be boosted by Microsoft spreading the tiled interface to personal computers and tablets.

He said that thereaction is remarkably positive to the new interface and Nokia need to introduce the experience to consumers to get them to try it because we know once they try it they will like it. Nokia starts selling the Lumia 800, which Elop calls “the first real Windows Phone device”, in six European markets this month.

Elop is betting the farm on Windows. Nokia has lost more than 60 billion euros ($80 billion) in market value since 2007. Nokia will widen its range from the 420-euro ($564) Lumia 800 and 270-euro ($363) Lumia 710 with both cheaper and more expensive devices, Elop said.

Nokia teamed up with Microsoft to establish what it calls a “third ecosystem” competing with the handset and services offerings of the iPhone and devices running Google's Android system. Fourth-quarter sales of the Lumia handset could be between 1 million and 1.5 million units, according to Morgan Stanley's analysts.